Page 41 of His Impossible Heir

It was four hours later when she realized she had a headache and looked around. She still hadn’t had any coffee this morning, but the effort to walk over to the coffee pot felt too overwhelming to contemplate. So instead, she turned back to her computer and kept writing, ignoring the sick feeling in her stomach. It would eventually go away. It had every day, eventually.

This was her new life. This was her world.

A knock on her door interrupted her concentration. It suddenly occurred to her that she hadn’t bothered to open the windows this morning. Or yesterday? How long had she been here?

Time had lost any meaning.

Another knock, louder and more impatient this time, made her sigh as she pushed up from her desk. Walking over to the door, she wondered why she had only one sock on. But instead of worrying about that, she opened the door.

Emma stood in the doorway looking bright and fresh in a sunny yellow dress with a softer yellow cardigan and matching heels. Amanda’s best friend looked her over, then gasped, “Dear heaven!”

Amanda was startled to find her best friend here in Philadelphia and, as soon as Emma stepped inside, Amanda peered outside at her driveway. Sure enough, two bodyguards stood sentry outside, but Emma’s husband wasn’t around.

“Where’s Rayed?” Amanda asked listlessly.

Emma hugged her tightly, then pulled back, assessing her carefully. “What have you eaten today?”

Amanda looked around, not sure what time it was. The coffee pot had turned off, so it was…?

“What time is it?”

Emma’s mouth pursed and her concern deepened. “Where’s your phone?”

Amanda looked around, not sure where she’d left it. “I don’t remember where I put it.” Her eyes moved back to Emma’s and she shrugged. “Does it matter?”

Emma sighed. “Go put some other clothes on. I’m taking you out for dinner.”

Amanda blinked. Dinner? She hadn’t even had breakfast! “It’s that late?” She looked over at her computer, shocked that she’d been working for so long. Although, Amanda wasn’t sure what time she’d started, so it might have only been thirty minutes since she’d woken up. Not opening the curtains meant that she had no idea what time it was.

“Go!” Emma ordered. “Change clothes!”

Amanda considered arguing with Emma, but she simply didn’t have the energy. And her stomach didn’t feel well. Adding to her general sense of malaise, Amanda acknowledged she ached everywhere. So instead of telling her friend that she wanted to be alone, knowing that Emma wouldn’t allow it, Amanda headed into her bedroom. She looked around, but wasn’t sure what to wear.

Apparently, Emma had anticipated her inability to decide. She pushed open the doors to her closet and pulled something out. “This,” Emma ordered, pulling out a pair of black slacks and…!

“Notthatsweater,” Amanda announced, cringing away from the familiar pink sweater. She hadn’t worn it since she’d been with Daniesh. She hadn’t worn any of the clothes he’d bought her. It was too painful.

“Okay, then how about this one?” Emma suggested, her tone softer.

Amanda looked over her shoulder and saw that Emma was holding up a white shirt. She nodded. “That’s fine.”

Emma left, but warned, “I’ll give you five minutes, then I’m coming back in.”

Since Emma wouldn’t give in and go away, Amanda pulled off the ratty sweats and tossed them into the laundry basket. She’d need to do laundry soon. The pile was…even as the thought occurred to her, the pile toppled over. When was the last time she’d vacuumed?

A while, she thought and pulled on the slacks. They were too loose and she glanced at her reflection in the mirror. She’d lost a lot of weight. Yes, she needed food, but the thought didn’t bother her too much. Amanda shrugged into the white blouse, buttoning it up and trying not to think about Daniesh’s hands and the way he’d trailed his fingers down her belly. When she realized that she hadn’t put on a bra, she let out a disgusted snort and undid the buttons again, forcing herself to concentrate on the present and not the past.

She turned, grabbing a bra and pulled it on. But…dear heaven, what had happened to her breasts? They were enormous! The mounds spilled out over the cups of her bra and…! She tossed the pointless bra away and grabbed another. But this one was too small as well. She found a sports bra, which, at least covered her breasts, but they squished out the sides!

Plus, the sports bra was pink and turquoise. The colors would show through the white blouse, so she grabbed a different sweater, this one black. She’d look like she was heading for a funeral, but Amanda didn’t have the energy to care. People were going to think whatever they wanted anyway.

“You ready?” Emma called, jerking Amanda out of her contemplation of her hairbrush.

Quickly, she touched her hair, ignored the increasing nausea, and smoothed out her hair. She added a touch of lipstick, but the thought of hunting down her concealer to hide the dark circles under her eyes was too much to consider.

She took a deep breath, touched her stomach to try to calm the nausea and jerked the bedroom door open.

Emma was sitting at Amanda’s desk, reading the rough draft that was still open on her computer.

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